Anti-terrorism centre 'closed' for Olympics in £423m blunder

A new fire emergency control centre in London will remain in mothballs during the 2012 Olympics because a £423 million IT system is not ready.

Designed in the wake of the September 11 attacks, it is one of nine centres across the country able for the first time to co-ordinate a national response to a terrorist attack or natural disaster.

The building, in Morden, was completed last month but cannot be used because the computer software - which would link England's 45 fire control rooms - is not ready as a result of what one MP called a "debacle".

The London "regional control centre" has already been criticised for its lavish design - it has a £25,000 coffee machine, 72 CCTV cameras and can withstand a nuclear attack.

The regional centres would be able to pinpoint the locations of fire engines and direct the nearest crews to problems. They would also use new technology to filter out hoax calls and ensure calls were answered at peak times, rather than having to rely on the Met police for back-up.

MPs are investigating what the Fire Brigades Union calls a "gross waste of public money", which could total £1.4 billion. The National Audit Office says the software project will be £240 million over budget. The London building should have been open by 22 November but fire minister Shahid Malik has now delayed this until after the Olympics.

Brian Coleman, Tory chairman of the London fire authority, said: "This is a huge government IT cock-up to end all IT cock-ups. Those of us who saw it coming several years ago kept telling the Government they were not in a position to deliver this before the Olympics. Nor is there any evidence that the software works. It's not going to be unsafe, the current system will see us through."

A spokesman for Mr Malik said the "FiReControl" system was not part of the emergency preparations for the Olympics. He said: "This change in the schedule has no significant impact upon security arrangements for the Olympics. The Olympic village will operate as an independent unit with its own communication centre covering police, ambulance and fire resources."